


Together for the Holidays

by snowandlilacs



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family, Gen, Holidays, minor Tai/Raven if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-14 21:55:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16921116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowandlilacs/pseuds/snowandlilacs
Summary: A house in Patch is filled for the holidays.





	1. Family Feast

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the qrowin festival week.

Holidays were always a busy time of year. Families gathering and spending time together, catching up and sharing stories, eating food and celebrating. It was no different in a house on Patch team RWBY and their family was gathered up together for the holidays. Ruby and Yang were busy playing video games while Blake tried reading a book in the corner despite the noise in the house. Weiss sat back with a cup of coffee and filled in commentary for the game in the background.

The Belladonnas, however, were in the kitchen with Tai as Kali insisted on helping and Ghira sat with some tea as the conversation was comparing their differences in work, as well as similarities, and Qrow sipped at a glass of hot buttered rum while watching and adding in a quip here and there.

Winter, on the other hand, quietly slipped outside to get a bit of peace. 

Holidays in Atlas often came with large parties that she was dragged to and strangers she was forced to appease for the sake of her father. This continued even after she left home due to her role of military personnel. It was impersonal and crowded, but at least she knew how to handle crowds of people that meant little to nothing to her. As for her current predicament, Winter had hoped to stay in her apartment in Atlas and have a nice quiet holiday, but Weiss and Qrow insisted that she spend it in Patch with them and everyone else. It was a nice change, but there was a point when Winter found the crowd and cheer a bit suffocating. 

“I was wondering how long your tolerance would hold out.”

Winter turned and spotted Raven sitting in corner of the back porch where she could only assume the wind was blocked from.

“It is...a bit much,” Winter admitted.

Raven huffed and went back to watching the treeline. That was fine enough for Winter as she leaned on the railing and looked in the same general direction. 

The silence was nice; though, it was a bit odd to be outside with Raven when, last she heard, the older woman and Yang were still trying to patch things up. Tai had mostly forgiven her, understanding whatever reasoning she told him she had for leaving, as for Qrow—

“So why are you here?” Raven asked.

While the tone lacked the bite of being accusatory, Winter still found herself offended.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, it seems you aren’t comfortable with an intimate gathering like what’s going on inside. Why come in the first place?”

“I was asked.”

Was it really so difficult to believe? While yes, Winter would have personally preferred staying home and enjoying a nice quiet holiday, this wasn’t bad. It was just overwhelming. There were people she didn't know, but were still very important to Qrow and her sister, so she wanted to make a good impression on them; however, she hadn't expected the Belladonnas and that was an awkward, at best, meeting.

Maybe Raven had a point.

“And you?” Winter countered. “It doesn’t seem you are particularly comfortable either.”

The flat look that she was given made Winter aware of how little amusement Raven seemed to have for her comment. Even so, there was no lingering threat. She should let Qrow know that his warnings were unnecessary.

“I have been told that I need to participate more and get to know people. That and hiding out in the bedroom won’t block out the noise. At least out here I can fly off if need be.”

But here she was. Winter had to wonder how difficult it was for her to stay and try living life close to her family after being gone so long. At the surface their situations sounded the same, but there was so much different that they really could never be fairly compared. Where did someone even try to start a conversation knowing that?

“I can underst—”

“Winter.”

The sudden interruption from Qrow was unexpected, but not unwelcome. However, Winter noticed how he quickly crossed the space from the door to where she was and wrapped his arms around her once he spotted his sister.

“Qrow.”

“...Raven.”

If the tension was awkward before Qrow arrived, it was only made worse now that there seemed to be an underlying hostility between the siblings. Winter assumed Qrow was trying to be protective with his hold on her, but it really wasn’t necessary.

“I would rather be bombarded with their cheer than sit out here and watch this,” Raven said as she stood up to return inside. 

Winter remained silent as Raven left them alone, not finding it her place to try and get the two to reconcile. That was something that would take far more time than a single holiday to repair from the look of it.

“You alright?” Qrow asked while briefly tightening his hold on her.

“I’m fine. There really was no need to come out and try saving me from a conversation with your sister.”

“I don’t trust her.”

It was easy to guess why. While the full details of the situation were not given to her, the general situation was explained, and a former bandit leader wasn’t exactly her first choice in holiday guest, either, but that was not her decision to make.

“You changed from where you started, maybe it’s just taking her more time.”

The scoff told her that Qrow didn’t exactly believe her. Oh well, it wasn’t really her business to get involved in their feud. 

“So other than ‘rescuing’ me from your sister, why did you come out here?”

“To piss her off.”

Winter rolled her eyes. 

“You are the younger one, aren’t you?” 

Younger brothers appeared to love excelling at that skill, which made her wonder how Whitley was holding up for the holiday. A twinge of guilt came to her, but Winter made a mental note to try and call him later. 

The lack of an answer to her question, however, was an answer on its own.

“Why are you trying to pick a fight with your sister?”

“It’s what I do. That and I wasn’t really trying to pick a fight, Tai said not to. Speaking of which, I was supposed to get you so we could start settling down to eat. Raven being out here was a plus since outright telling her to go inside would only get the opposite effect. Not that I would complain.”

Again, Winter rolled her eyes.

“Alright then, let me go and we can go inside.”

Immediately Winter knew those were the wrong words because of the wolfish grin that came to Qrow’s face, but before she could question him, she was lifted up and being carried back inside.

The holidays were only just beginning.


	2. Open Fire

“It’s cold.”

Winter sighed. 

“I know, you have said so at least ten times already.”

“...still cold.”

Qrow was acting like a child when it came to running some errands while Tai was busy handling a house full of guests in addition to his own family. It really was the least they could do to help out. That and it was a nice chance to get away from the chaos of a full house. 

“We need to pick you up some warmer clothes if you are going to complain about the cold all the time.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my clothes.”

“Other than the fact that you’re complaining that it is cold. At least get some gloves, a scarf, and a proper coat.”

The mumbled grumbling that followed was nothing that Winter could pick out the exact words of, which was probably for the best. She wasn’t about to start a fight about his awful choices of clothing when it came to cold weather. It made her realize there was a possible solution to help their current situation. Taking the list Tai gave her, Winter folded it and carefully tore it in half. 

“Here, you take care of this half of the list, and I’ll take the other half. We will get done quicker and you can get out of the cold, okay?”

“Or we could not do that,” he argued. “It might take longer letting you loose around these shops that you aren’t as familiar with.”

Winter gave him a look and rolled her eyes. 

“I think I can manage. Just get your half, I’ll figure out my own, alright?”

The skeptical look that Qrow gave her was enough to tell her that he didn’t fully believe her, but it seemed he wasn’t about to argue any further. They had a chore to take care of, and the sooner it was done, the sooner they could head back. 

At least, that was the plan.

An hour or so later, after she finished her share of the errand, Winter found herself wandering a small holiday market in the town square. It reminded her of the ones she could find in Atlas this time of year. It wasn’t nearly as large or grand as the ones back home, but it had it’s own charm. 

Winter decided to take a moment to look at a stall of little carved figures. There were small bears, elephants, a few even resembled specific grimm. There was even an adorable horse that she briefly picked up and examined before moving on to the next stall. For her, this was similar enough to home to make her feel nostalgic. She missed the times when she was little and her mother would take her to the holiday markets and lead her through the stalls. Winter had always loved the little glass-blown figures and waffles folded into a cone filled with cream and fruit. That tradition died after her younger siblings were born. They were too little to go out into the cold, and her father decided she was too old for such childish things. 

Then came her mother’s drinking and Weiss and Whitley never got to experience a family outing like Winter had.

“What has you looking sad?”

Winter jolted slightly and looked up to find Qrow looking concerned. 

“It’s nothing, really. Just feeling a little nostalgic.”

She watched as Qrow shifted awkwardly, the silence dragging a little as if he wasn’t sure if he should ask any more on the subject. Rather than let him suffer with the decision, however, Winter grabbed his free hand and led him over to a standing fire, set out so the shoppers could warm up, where a few others lingered around.

“Get warm, and then we can head back, okay?”

Qrow wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, and the act pulled a small smile from her as she put her head down to hide the heat rising up in her cheeks. Public displays of affection were still awkward for her, but this wasn't so bad.

Maybe they could make new traditions and memories. 

“Think Tai is wondering where we are with his grocery list?”

“Ready to head back then?” Winter asked.

The silence that followed caused her to raise a brow. Did he really want to stay out in the cold he was complaining about earlier?

“He can wait a little longer.”


	3. Scarf

It was peacefully quiet in the house, and Winter was standing near a window facing the backyard with a mug of tea in her hands and a small smirk on her lips as she sipped at her drink. 

_“Seriously?”_

Winter spared a glance at Raven who made a disgusted face as she looked out the window before moving toward the kettle. Hiding her amusement with another sip of her tea, Winter glanced back at the sight of Qrow chopping wood. While he was fully clothed, he had pushed up the sleeves of a long sleeved shirt he was wearing, and discarded his jacket in the snow. Even so, Winter enjoyed the view, but she could understand Raven’s disgust.

“I didn’t think I’d have to watch someone ogle my brother first thing in the morning. I think I’ll be sick.”

“Good morning to you, too.”

The flat look she received was enough to let Winter know that Raven was not impressed. Not that it bothered her. Winter was in a good mood this morning, but she decided that it would be wise not to pester Qrow’s sister too much.

Taking her mug and moving through the house, Winter spotted Taiyang leaving his bedroom.

“Raven’s in the kitchen.”

“Ah...thanks.”

He went to head toward the kitchen, but a thought suddenly came to Winter.

“Taiyang?”

“Need something, Winter?”

“Do you have any spare gloves and other accessories for being outside?”

A few minutes later, after gathering the offered items she asked for, Winter abandoned her tea in the kitchen before going outside and joining Qrow. He glanced up and offered a smile before returning to his self-imposed chore. Luckily he decided to take a break as she got closer rather than make her talk over the sound of chopping wood.

“You really should properly bundle up.”

Qrow rolled his eyes.

“I’m fine. It’s warm enough if I keep moving.”

“You’re going to end up sick.”

“I’ll be fine, Winter. It’s not like it’s Atlas.”

“Humor me,” she said while handing him over a pair of gloves. 

Qrow gave her a blank look, and Winter noted that it was similar to the one Raven gave her earlier, but it was probably best not to mention that to him. Instead she pulled out the extra scarf she brought with her and wrapped it around Qrow, amused at the appalled look on his face at the accessory.

“Where did you find this?”

“Taiyang dug it out for me.”

He groaned and Winter was amused. It was a garish mess of clashing colors, but it looked warm, and that was all that mattered. She wasn’t about to let him get sick because he wanted to pretend that it wasn’t necessary.

“I’ll have to kill him later.”

Winter rolled her eyes. 

“No you won’t. He’s just trying to help.”

“He’s making me look ridiculous is what he’s doing.”

She shook her head at him and tugged at the ends of the scarf to pull him closer and give him a brief kiss. 

“You need to stay warm.”

“This is the ugliest scarf ever. It should have been burned years ago,” he huffed.

“So why wasn’t it?”

“Because Tai wants to torture me, apparently. It was bought on a drunken dare once. I didn’t know he kept the damn thing.”

Well that explained it’s existence in the house. That and why Taiyang insisted that Winter should take that particular scarf out to Qrow. It was amusing, at least, even if it wasn’t quite what she expected to hear.

“It is... _unique_.”

“It looks like a child ate crayons and threw up.”

Winter couldn’t help but to laugh at that. He wasn’t wrong.

“Then maybe you won’t protest to going shopping for one you will actually wear?”

Qrow gave her a suspicious look and Winter continued holding on to the scarf.

“That it?”

“A proper coat, gloves, and a scarf would be ideal.”

“Knew it couldn’t be that easy. I manage just fine without them.”

“Here, _maybe_. In Atlas, you’ll freeze. Come on, you’ve been out here since we got up this morning. At least get some coffee and warm up inside.”

Qrow shifted and Winter recognized the discomfort, but she was confused.

“Something wrong?”

“...Raven is in there.”

So he was avoiding his sister. That made a bit more sense.

“I don’t think she’ll bother you if we go inside together.” That seemed to catch his attention. Qrow perked up and tilted his head at the news. Winter wasn’t certain if she should share all the details, though. “The scarf might run her off.”

He was less impressed with that answer.

“Ha ha, real funny,” he deadpanned. “But fine. I’ll go inside. One comment from her, though, and I’m coming back out here.”

Winter rolled her eyes and took his hand to lead him back inside. She already accepted the fact that her tea had long gone cold, but she could make more. At least Qrow was cooperating for the time being, and she didn’t stop leading him inside until she got him to the kitchen.

It seemed Raven was still there, leaning against a counter and looking unimpressed while Tai was finishing up cooking breakfast on the stove.

“What the hell is that?” Raven asked while looking at the scarf Qrow was wearing.

“I’m out.”

Winter yanked him back to keep him from returning outside like he claimed and pulled him into a kiss which got the expected reaction from Raven. She scowled and pushed away from the counter, muttering something about waking everyone else up.

“Oh. So that’s how I can annoy her,” Qrow said with glee once Winter pulled away.

“Qrow….” Tai gave him a warning look. “Please don’t start antagonizing Raven. It’s hard enough to get her to interact with everyone. Oh! You’re wearing it! I can’t believe you actually got him to wear that.”

Tai started laughing and Qrow turned to Winter and gave her a flat look. 

“See what you did?” 

“Uncle Qrow? What _are_ you wearing?”

Winter couldn’t stop the laughter as Yang snapped a picture with her scroll once he turned to face her which resulted in Qrow diving for the scroll.

It was certainly an eventful morning.


	4. String Lights

As tradition set by Taiyang, decorations were to be put up as a family. The reasoning was that they would be appreciated more from the shared work and that everyone could bond. Winter was beginning to expect it was just so the work could be shared more than anything else. It was a fair reasoning if that was the case from the utter chaos that was taking place.

The tree was being handled by Ruby, Blake, and Weiss. Yang was self-appointed to minor details that had her gleefully disappearing for a suspicious amount of time. Ghira and Kali took over the kitchen to handle food while Taiyang and Raven went outside to decorate the house with lights. Winter suspected it was to get Raven involved while also letting her be away from the crowd.

Qrow and Winter, however, were given the job of getting a tangled mess of lights put up around the room for a nice ambient glow to compliment the tree.

“No, you can’t start there, it will only make it worse.”

“I think I know what I’m doing, Ice Queen.”

Winter rolled her eyes. 

“Then you take that bundle, and I will take this one and we will see who finishes first.”

“Is that a challenge?”

Winter gave him a look to confirm that yes, it was, and it seemed he accepted with the energy he tried tearing into the bundle of knotted lights. Winter, however, chose an end and started pulling it through the tangled parts, following it’s path while slowly unraveling the string of lights.

During this small competition, Yang burst back into the room.

“Just _what_ are you wearing on your head?” Weiss demanded.

“Like it?” Yang asked cheerfully.

Winter glanced up in time to see Yang bounce over to Weiss and plant a kiss on her. However, rather than focus on that somewhat private moment, Winter’s eyes moved up to the headband with the crooked dangling mistletoe. She shook her head, amused at the girl’s antics and looked back to her task of getting the lights in order.

It wasn’t until Qrow gave a small growl that she looked back up.

“Back off, Firecracker. This Schnee is mine.”

Yang made her way over to where the two of them were tackling the lights and had a mischievous grin. Winter glanced between the two and raised a brow, confused.

“You have your own Schnee, go back to her.”

Yang continued grinning before snatching Winter’s hand and giving it a brief kiss as the mistletoe dangled between them, only to shriek in laughter as Qrow dove after Yang. Rather get caught up in watching their antics, Winter went back to untangling her lights.

When Qrow finally decided to rejoin her, Winter gave him a questioning look.

“Have fun?”

The huff she got in return was answer enough. 

“She’s her father’s daughter alright.”

Winter shook her head and a smirk spread across her face before she held up her completely untangled string of lights.

“I win.”

“That’s not fair, I was defending your honor.”

“From your niece.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” he grumbled.

“And yet you have not made an honest woman out of me yet.”

A split second later Winter made an undignified squeak as Qrow scooped her up and started leaving the room. 

“Yang, you have light duty now.”

“Ugh...don’t tell me you’re going to do anything inappropriate."

“She’s my girlfriend, I can do whatever she lets me.”

Winter punched his shoulder and shot him a look. Was this seriously a conversation that was taking place? It seemed that was enough to get his attention and ignore the girls’ chatter in the living room. 

They had each other to focus on.


	5. Blizzard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is much shorter than the others since I was going to skip doing this prompt, but the comments on the last chapter were motivation enough to get something out. Thank you to those who comment, it does help motivate me to write, even if it's something short.

“Are you alright?”

Qrow watched as Winter paced from one end of the kitchen to the other with her scroll held tightly and close to her ear.

“Yes, I know how he is. Could you get Klein to make some excuse?”

He assumed that she was talking to her brother. If that was the case, she was going to stress and pace half the night if left to her own devices, but he couldn’t interrupt her call. 

“That’s probably for the best. Stay inside at least.”

Luckily it seemed like she was wrapping up her conversation.

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later.”

Tilting his head, Qrow watched as she closed her scroll and sighed, looking worried. It was time to try keeping her from spending the whole night worrying. “So, what’s the little ice prince have to say?”

He wasn’t surprised to see her roll her eyes at him. That was a daily occurrence.

“There’s a blizzard about to hit Atlas, and he’s stuck at the manor with our parents. I know Klein is there to help, but being stuck inside with no proper escape….”

“He’ll be okay. As you said, Klein is there, and there’s a lot of places to hide without being accused of hiding in that big ass house.”

“You do realize this also means that it will delay my travel back to Atlas, don’t you?”

A wicked grin crossed his face.

“Then I get to keep you to myself longer,” he said while pulling her close.

“That’s—”

“Would you two stop having these moments in the _kitchen_ of all places?”

Qrow blinked and found his sister scowling at him. Winter started to move away from him, but he wasn’t about to let Raven ruin this moment. He pulled Winter closer and held on tight.

_“Nope.”_


	6. Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt is a day late, but here's the last day to wrap it all up.

“Why can’t we open presents like they do in Atlas?” Ruby asked. “Weiss said they open their presents the night before. That’s not fair.”

“Ruby….”

Tai was trying to keep the situation under control, and Qrow had no intention of stepping in. Instead he was busy giving a small glance to the little wrapped present he set aside for Winter, hoping she would like it. 

Neither of them really were too involved with the holidays. They were usually too busy with work, or remembering times when their families completely ruined the time of the year for them. Quiet time spent alone with each other was preferred when they could get the time, but this year they tried something different. 

They both wanted good memories with family to take with them.

Even so, they agreed to keep their gifts on the lower end of cost. They could afford more if they really wanted, but frivolous spending seemed like such a waste to both of them. They spent more on the kids, but for them they just wanted something thoughtful. Qrow just hoped that Winter actually liked the gift he got her.

“We’re not in Atlas, so we’re not doing that. No one will get any sleep if that’s the case.”

Apparently Raven decided to join in on the argument.

“Party-pooper,” Yang huffed.

“Alright, everyone, time for bed,” Qrow said while giving in and stepping up. He’d give Tai the gift of being the ‘bad guy’ this time around. “Can’t get along, go to your rooms.”

“I thought you were supposed to be the _cool_ uncle,” Ruby whined.

“I’m your _only_ uncle now scoot.”

Tai mumbled a thanks once the girls went to the room they were all sharing, leaving their older family members a moment of respite. 

The Belladonnas seemed to be amused by the antics of the girls, Tai looked exhausted, Raven was unimpressed as usual, and Winter…. Qrow glanced over toward her, watching as she checked her scroll again. He wasn’t sure how many times she looked, but he was certain the worry was eating away at her. Now wasn’t exactly an easy time for socialization. 

He’d step in again to make things easier.

“If you’ll excuse us. We should get some rest, too.”

Before anyone could protest, Qrow took Winter’s hand, and the momentary look of confusion confirmed that she hadn’t been listening. Even so, he pulled her up off of the couch and out of the living room, not stopping until they reached their shared room.

“Go ahead and call. I’ll bring you back some tea and give you a few minutes.”

Winter gave a small smile and a nod before he slipped back out of the room and toward the kitchen. There he found Kali already making some tea, but he didn’t want to intrude.

“Back so soon? And here we thought—”

“ _Kali_ ,” Ghira warned.

“We’re all adults, dear. So, what brings you back out?”

He wasn’t sure if he should explain. It was a private matter and not his to tell. 

“Just bringing Winter some tea.”

“Oh!” Kali’s eyes softened and she gave a gentle smile before sliding over a cup that she had just filled. “She can have this one. There’s plenty.”

Qrow gave a brief nod of thanks and made his way back toward the room and gave a gentle knock at the door to give Winter a heads up that he returned. When he entered the room he saw her braiding her hair, the scroll on the side table.

“Short conversation?”

“Yes,” Winter sighed. “Everything seems to be fine. I have been told ‘not to fret so much’ but I just….”

As she trailed off, looking worried, Qrow handed her the tea.

“Here you go. Kali already was making some.”

She took the cup and gave a careful sip, and Qrow watched as she slowly let her shoulders drop as she stopped holding herself so tensely. It couldn’t be good for someone to keep their muscles so stiff, and he had said so in the past only to get told off about his posture, so he knew better than to say anything about it again.

When Winter was finished with her tea, he took the cup and returned it to the kitchen, seeing that everyone else had the same idea of going to bed. However, on the way back to the room, Qrow stopped and picked up the gifts that he and Winter meant to give each other. He would hear an earful about it the next morning, but the kids would get over it.

This time he didn’t bother knocking since he doubted Winter was taking another call and saw her sitting in bed waiting for him. 

“What did you do?” she asked.

“Stole our gifts to each other. Here.”

Qrow gently placed the small gift in Winter’s hand while keeping the one she wrapped for him as he climbed in next to her. 

“Go ahead. Open it.”

“You do realize Ruby will be upset that we opened our gifts before she is allowed to open hers, right?”

“She’ll get over it after she starts opening her stuff. Go on.”

Winter looked skeptical, but did as he said. Inside the wrapping was a small wooden horse.

“I uh...saw you looking at it the other day and thought...well….”

“I love it. Thank you, Qrow.”

The brief kiss to his cheek washed away the worry he had that she wouldn’t like it or thought it was silly. He watched as she set it next to her scroll and then looked expectantly at him.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to open yours?”

He held the squishy package and tore open the paper with ease, only to tilt his head curiously at the bundle he was holding. Seeing that it was folded he unraveled it and traced the crocheted stitches.

“Did you make me a blanket?”

“It’s to keep you warm while we’re apart.”

Qrow glanced up and saw that Winter seemed a bit embarrassed. He could only assume that she had made him the blanket with her aversion to outright answering and her refusal to meet his gaze. Looking at the blanket, and back at Winter, Qrow then wrapped it around the both of them.

“It must have taken you a lot of time to make this, thank you.”

A shy smile greeted him.

“You’re welcome.”

“But for now it can keep us both warm. You’re still here with me now, and I’m not letting go.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if I will manage every day of this festive qrowin week like I was able to for the last one, but we will see. An attempt is being made.


End file.
